Grilling moratorium

Chicago mayoral candidate Carol Moseley Braun said Friday that there will be "no more drilling down" about her income tax returns despite unanswered questions about her personal finances and business losses.

At a campaign event to greet voters, Braun did answer one question about her tax returns. The former U.S. senator said the losses she reported for her CMB One Corp. are losses from her organic food company, Ambassador Organics, which she incorporated in 2005.

"We are totally transparent ... the fact is, I started a small business, an organic food business, at the beginning of the recession. I had no way of knowing the recession was going to kick in and we were going to be facing really hard times," Braun said, echoing a statement she released earlier this week.

"I probably could have folded it early on, but I didn't. And it's still standing. And that's where those losses are," Braun said, adding that she is the sole owner of CMB One, which is the holding company for her organic food business.

After initially refusing to release tax returns as other candidates have done, Braun this week provided personal income tax forms for 2009, 2008, 2007 and 2006. They showed more than $100,000 in losses attributed to her businesses, but she did not release other forms that could shed more light on the situation.

The campaign has said since Tuesday that her attorney would answer tax questions, but he has repeatedly declined to do so. On Friday, Braun said "there aren't any" more questions to answer.

"There's no more drilling down on this," Braun said.

When one reporter's questions persisted, a campaign aide put his hand over the reporter's voice recorder as Braun walked away.

In other campaign news, Gery Chico's campaign announced the endorsement of the Rev. Wilfredo De Jesus, who dropped out of the race Friday. Chico stood with the minister at his Humboldt Park New Life Covenant Church to receive the endorsement.

In a statement from the Chico campaign, De Jesus said he is backing Mayor Daley's former chief of staff and Board of Education president because he feels Chico is the most qualified for the job.

Last year, De Jesus made an unsuccessful bid to be appointed to replace Ald. Billy Ocasio as 26th Ward alderman. But De Jesus ran into opposition from gay activists who accused the minister of homophobia. In 2008, De Jesus told Christianity Today that his priorities were opposing abortion and homosexuality.